The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Media slams Aussie capitulation

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Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008
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Media slams Aussie capitulation

Perth: India and South Africa are in the race to dethrone “the ageing and wounded” Australia as the world’s No. 1 cricket team, commentators said on Monday after the South Africans had walloped the Aussies by successfully chasing 414 runs to win the first Test here on Sunday.

The Australian media put Ricky Ponting and his team on the mat by calling some of the key players “over-rated, lacking form or too arrogant for their own good.”

Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell said that in the race to unseat the Australians “there are differences that favour India over South Africa”.

India well-placed

He went on to say that India has a well-balanced attack that has experienced a good deal of success against Australia, while South Africa’s pace attack has still only displayed the potential to rattle Ponting and Co.

“Dhoni is a good aggressive captain who challenges the Australians while Graeme Smith relies on a conservative approach with rah-rah speeches.

“South Africa play a conservative brand of cricket that was never going to beat the Australia of old. This is a lesson India learned a while ago and they are even better equipped for toe-to-toe combat with Australia,” he said.

“In India’s favour, they challenged and beat Australia when they were in their prime, while South Africa is challenging Ponting’s ageing and wounded team,” he said.

Senior cricket writer Robert Craddock said: “Some of their key players are over-rated, lacking form or too arrogant for their own good.”

“Ponting cannot be expected to be Mr. Perfect but his body language is substandard when the side needs him most,” he pointed out.

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Roebuck said, “Mitchell Johnson won them the match and the rest contrived to throw it away. Not that all were equally to blame; Brad Haddin and Brett Lee deserve commendation.

“The Australians batted horribly and threw wickets away recklessly, none more so than Andrew Symonds, in whom a beleaguered captain has put so much trust,” he said.

The newspaper said: “The cricketing empire imagined by Allan Border, forged by Mark Taylor and defended by Steve Waugh is facing its greatest threat.” — PTI

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